Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Match 128: Bengal Warriors vs Telugu Titans | Match Preview, Predicted Lineups, When & Where to Watch
The home side, Bengal Warriors take on the Telugu Titans in a Zone B clash of PKL 2018 at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata tomorrow, Tuesday at 9 pm IST.
Although the Warriors have qualified for the playoffs, the defeat to Dabang Delhi in yesterday's encounter has exposed the chinks in their armor which could be exploited by their opposition in the playoffs.
Their raiding has been erratic throughout the season, except for the individual performances of Maninder Singh, who has single-handedly seen the Warriors home in many games. This season has been Jang Kun-Lee's second-worst season in PKL, while the absence of Mahesh Goud, seemingly due to injury, has reduced the Warriors' raiding to a single-man unit.
The Telugu Titans would gain encouragement from yesterday's defeat of the Warriors and attempt to go all-out in their quest for playoff qualification.
In order for the Titans to qualify for the playoffs, they need to win this match and hope that both, Patna Pirates and UP Yoddha, lose their respective encounters by a healthy margin. All this sounds quite improbable, but let's hope for the sake of the Titans' fans that it doesn't turn out to be impossible.
The Titans were in a much better position to qualify before their shock loss to an inspired-Puneri Paltan. The defense on the night was exceptionally poor, as it could manage just 5 tackle points.
A defense boasting the likes of Vishal Bhardwaj and Abozar Mighani were expected to create new records with their tackles, but the pre-season hopes have all turned into dust. While Vishal has individually been terrific despite the mid-season injury, Abozar Mighani, who looks a pale shadow of his former self, has fallen short of expectations.
Previous Meeting(s):
The two teams, Bengal Warriors and Telugu Titans, have faced each other twice before in the season, and in both the matches (Match 17 and Match 55) the Warriors came out on top with identical margins of 30-25.
Key Battles to keep an eye on
#1 Rahul Chaudhari (two-sided raider) vs Ran Singh (left corner)
#2 Maninder Singh (right raider) vs Vishal Bhardwaj (left corner)
Probable playing 7
Bengal Warriors: Ran Singh (c), Maninder Singh, Jang Kun Lee, Ravindra Ramesh Kumawat, Ziaur Rahman, Surjeet Singh, and Baldev Singh
Telugu Titans: Vishal Bhardwaj (c), Rahul Chaudhari, Nilesh Salunke, Mohsen Maghsoudlou, Farhad Milaghardan, Anil Kumar, and Abozar Mighani
When and where to watch: 21:00 IST on the Star Sports network and on digital streaming platform Hotstar.
Catch the latest updates of the Pro Kabaddi Points Table here at Sportskeeda.